Trim tabs for boats

ABSTRACT

Boat stabilizing apparatus having a pair of independently adjustable rigid trim tab plates mounted on the stern on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the boat. A pivot rod is fastened along one longitudinal edge of each plate with its ends projecting beyond the ends of the plate. A pair of brackets, each of which has a perpendicular ear at one end, and has an opening for a pivot rod end, to mount the pivot rod to turn about a horizontal axis adjacent the stern. The plate is angularly adjustable about this axis by rotation of an adjusting rod mounted to rotate about its axis in and held against endwise movement relative to a sleeve, which is pivotally connected with a bracket mounted on the stern. The adjusting rod has threads engaging internal threads in a tubular member that has a longitudinally slotted end pivotally connected with the flat upstanding body portion of a bracket mounted on the plate. All the brackets are made of suitable guage sheet metal. The adjusting rod has spaced grooves for snap rings for adjusting it lengthwise in the sleeve.

United States Patent 1 1 Carney 1451 Nov. 6, 1973 TRIM TABS FOR BOATS [73] Assignee: Charles R. Carney, Corpus Christi,

Tex.

[22] Filed: July 5, 1972 1211 Appl. No.: 269,261

52 us. c1. 114/66.5 P 51 B63b 1/22 581 Field Of Search 114/126, 66.5 P;

Primary ExaminerTrygve M. Blix Assistant Examiner-Edward R. Kazenske Att0rneyATl red R. Fuchs [57} ABSTRACT Boat stabilizing apparatus having a pair of independently adjustable rigid trim tab plates mounted on the stern on opposite sides of the longitudinal center line of the boat. A pivot rod is fastened along one longitudinal edge of each plate with its ends projecting beyond the ends of the plate. A pair of brackets, each of which has a perpendicular ear at one end, and has an opening for a pivot rod end, to mount the pivot rod to turn about a horizontal axis adjacent the stem. The plate is angularly adjustable about this axis by rotation of an adjusting rod mounted to rotate about its axis in and held against endwise movement relative to a sleeve, which is pivotally connected with a bracket mounted on the stern. The adjusting rod has threads engaging internal threads in a tubular member that has a longitudinally slotted end pivotally connected with the flat upstanding body portion of a bracket mounted on the plate. All the brackets are made of suitable guage sheet metal. The adjusting rod has spaced grooves for snap rings for adjusting it lengthwise in the sleeve.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENTED NW 7 SHEEI 1. (IF 2 1 TRIM TABS FOR BOATS BACKGROUND OFT HE INVENTION Trim tabs for boats have been provided that operate in various ways and are mounted in various ways on the stern of the boat. One type comprises a rigid bracket secured to the stem or transom of the boat which has a flexible plate mounted'on it and means for flexing the plate to adjust the same to various angular positions relative to the bracket. This does not provide the desired amount of .adjustability and involves the use of a large number of unnecessary parts inorder to get the desired adjustment of the flexible plate. Some of the stabilizing devices are extremely complex comprising considerable electrical apparatus to operate them, including solenoid valves, operating means for the solenoid valves and fluid cylinders for adjusting the position of the tabs. Others comprise handwheel operated threaded shafts that are screwthreadedly mounted in a socket and connected with the plates by a linkthat has special fittings or connecting it with the shaft and a bracket on the tab device shown in FIG. 1. Each of said plates is mounted on a pair of brackets 11 which are secured to the stern 10 by screwthreaded headed fastenidng elements 12. Each of the brackets 11 has an ear 13 projecting perpendicularly to the body portion of the bracket at one end thereof and each ear 13 has a pivot opening 14 therein. The tab plate 15 has a pivot rod 16 secured in fixed position adjacent one marginal longitudinal edge of the plate 15, being welded to the surface of said plate 15. The pivot rod is slightly longer than the edge of the trim plate 15 to which it is secured providing projecting ends 17 on the rod 16 that extend beyond the ends 18 of the plate 15.

To assemble the plate 15 on the stern 10 the pair of brackets 11 are first placed in position with the projecting ends 17 of the pivot rod 16 in the openings 14 in the ears 13, after which the brackets l 1 are secured in posiplate. Still others have connections in which ball and socket joints and other expensive parts are used. Still others have plates that are adjusted by means of electrical motors that are controlled by the boat operator or automatically. Another type has a rod which is adjustable slidably relative to a bracket having a complex' locking means for holding the rod in adjusted position relative to the bracket, and means for moving the locking means into and out of locking position.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide a boat stabilizing apparatus that is simple in construction which utilizes inexpensive parts for providing the mounting of the trim tab plates for adjustment about a horizontal axis located adjacent a longitudinal edge of each plate, to independently adjust the elevation 'of each of the plates with respect to the boat.

. Other objects and-advantages of my invention will appear as the description of the drawings proceeds. I desire to have it understood, however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the particular details shown or described except as defined in the claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of the stern of a boat having one of my adjustable trim tab plates mounted thereon. 2

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through the stern of the boat showing my trim tab mounting in elevation.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through the adjusting rod taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 6 is a view partly in section and partly in plan taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 2, on an enlarged scale, and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of one of the trim tab plates, detached.

Referring in detail to the drawings, a portion of the stern 10 of a boat is shown in FIG. 1, the stabilizing apparatus comprising a pair of trim tab plates mounted on each side of the longitudinal center line of the boat, only one of the same being shown in the drawing, the other trim tab plate of the pair being a duplicate of the tion on the stem 10 by the fastening elements 12 with their adjacent ends spaced from each other, as shown in FIG. 1, thereby securing the plate 15 for pivotal movement about the axis of the rod 16 on the stem 10 with the pivotal axis closely adjacent the stern.

Also mounted on the stern 10 in upwardly spaced relation to the brackets 11 and thus to the trim plate 15, is a bracket which has a flat body portion 19 of a platelike character and a pair of oppositely directed ears 20 projecting laterally perpendicularly from the body portion 19, said ears 20 being secured to the stern 10 by screwthreaded headed fastening elements 21. The plate-like body portion 19 thus projects perpendicularly rearwardly from the stern 10. It will be obvious that since the bracket having the body portion 19 is independently mounted on the stern with respect to the bracket 1 l, the spacing upwardly of said bracket can be varied as may be found desirable to get the desired position of the adjusting means, to be described below, for convenient operation of the apparatus manually.

The flat plate body portion 19 has an opening therein through which a pivot member 22 extends, which also extends through a pivot opening in a flange 23 extending from a sleeve .24, through which the adjusting rod 25 extends, said adjusting rod preferably having a handle 26 thereon by means of which the adjusting rod 25 can be rotated. The-adjusting rod 25 is mounted for rotation about itsaxis in the sleeve 24 and is held from movement lengthwise of itself relative to the sleeve 24 by means of snap rings 27 mounted in a pair of the grooves 28 that extend circumferentially around the adjusting rod 25. The adjusting rod 25 is adjustable relative to the sleeve 24 by adjusting the position of the snap rings 27 lengthwise of the adjusting rod 25, a series of the grooves 28 being provided that are spaced uniformly along the length of the rod 25 for this purpose, the spacing? of the grooves 28 being such that any pair thereof can be selected for receiving the rings 27 to hold the rod 25 in the desired position relative to the sleeve 24.

The adjusting rod 25 has an externally screwthreaded end portion 29, which threaded portion has a length suitable for adjusting the plate 15 to any desired angu- 1 lar position with respect to the horizontal, that may be slots 32 that extend lengthwise thereof inwardly a suitable distance from the bottom end of the tubular member 30. A pivot member 33 is mounted in a pair of oppositely arranged openings 34 in the lower end of the tubular member at the slotted portion thereof, said pivot member extending through an opening 35in a flat plate-like body portion 36 of a bracket having a pair of cars 37 projecting laterally perpendicularly therefrom in opposite directions, which ears are secured by suitable screwthreaded headed fastening elements 38, or in any other suitable manner to the plate 15 on the upper face thereof. The body portion 36 thus is upstanding relative to the plate 15 and extends perpendicularly to the top surface of said plate 15, said ears 37 being bent from the flat plate-like body portion 36 of said bracket to extend perpendicularly thereto. The pivot member 35 thus pivotally connects the bracket having the body portion 36 with the lower end of the tubular member 30 with said flat plate-like body portionv extending through the slots 32. The slots 32 are of such a length that the tubular member can pivot freely about the axis of the pivot member 33.

The brackets are all made of a suitable guage sheet metal to have the desired strength for use in an apparatus of this character, each of said brackets being made of a piece of flat sheet metal by means of a simple cutting and bending operation.

ln installing the pair of tab plates 15 on the stern of a boat a pair of brackets 11 is assembled with each of the plates 15 and secured in desired position on the stern near the bottom thereof. The adjusting rod is then passed through the bore of the sleeve 24 and threaded into the tubular member 30 a desired amount so as to provide for the adjustment of the tab plate through the range of angular positions relative to the horizontal, that may be desirable. Then the sleeve 24 is adjusted lengthwise of the rod to such a position that a groove 28 will be at each end of the sleeve 24 and the operating handle 26 of the adjusting rod 25 will be in suitable position for operation of the adjusting means by rotation of the rod 25 by means of said handle. The bracket having the body portion 19 is then secured in position on the stem 10 in upwardly spaced relation to the brackets 11, this position being determined by position of the sleeve 24 relative to the adjusting rod 25. A proper location for the sleeve24 relative to the adjusting rod 25 should be selected to place the operating handle 26 in convenient position for operation of the adjusting rod.

By the use of the brackets made of proper guage sheet metal and the relatively simple mounting of the tab plate 15 on the stern, as well as the use of threaded rods and threaded tubes for the adjusting means for the tab plates, the cost of manufacture of the same can be greatly reduced. The ear 23 provided on the sleeve 24 can also be made of a piece of sheet metal of proper guage welded to a tubular member of standard internal diameter to rotatably receive the rod 25.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a rigid trim tab plate of means for mounting said plate on the stern of a boat for adjustment to various angular positions with respect to a horizontal plane comprising a pair of brackets mounted on said stern, an ear projecting from each of said brackets, each of said ears having an opening therein, a pivot rod mounted in fixed position adjacent a side edge of said plate having end portions projecting beyond the ends of said plate and seated in said openings, a bracket mounted on said plate, a tubular member having longitudinal diametrically aligned slots in the lower end thereof, a flat upstanding body portion on said bracket mounted on said plate extending into said slots, a pivot pin connecting said flat body portion with said tubular member to mount said tubular member on said bracket to pivot adjacent the lower end thereof about an axis parallel to the axis of said pivot rod, ears projecting laterally from said flat upstanding body portion secured to said plate, said tubular member having an internally threaded portion adjacent the upper end thereof, an adjusting rod having a screwthreaded end portion engaging said internally threaded portion of said tubular member, a bracket mounted on said stern in upwardly spaced relation to said first mentioned pair of brackets, a sleeve pivotally mounted on said bracket, and means for rotatably mounting said adjusting rod in said sleeve having means for holding said rod from longitudinal movement in said sleeve.

2. The combination with a rigid trim tab plate of means for mounting said plate on the stern of a boat for adjustment to various angular positions with respect to a horizontal plane comprising a pair of brackets mounted on'said stern, an ear projecting from each of said brackets, each of said ears having an opening therein, a pivot rod mounted in fixed position adjacent a side edge of said plate having end portions projecting beyond the ends of said plate and seated in said openings, a bracket mounted on said plate, a tubular member mounted on said bracket to pivot adjacent the lower end thereof about an axis parallel to the axis of said pivot rod, said tubular member having an internally threaded portion adjacent the upper end thereof, an adjusting rod having a screw-threaded end portion engaging said internally threaded portion of said tubular member, a bracket mounted on said stern in upwardly spaced relation to said first mentioned pair of brackets, a sleeve pivotally mounted on said last mentioned bracket, and means for rotatably mounting said adjusting rod in said sleeve, said adjusting rod having circumferential grooves therein and snap rings mounted in said circumferential grooves engaging the opposite ends of said sleeve to hold said rod from longitudinal movement in said sleeve.

3. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which said circumferential grooves are provided in a uniform longitudinally spaced series and the snap rings in engagement with opposite ends of said sleeve are positioned in a selected pair of said grooves.

4. The combination with a rigid trim tab plate of means for mounting said plate on the stern of a boat for adjustment to various angular positions with respect to a horizontal plane comprising means pivotally connecting said plate with said stem to turn about an axis parallel to and adjacent a side edge of said plate, a bracket having a flat upstanding body portion and ears projecting laterally from opposite sides of said body portion connected with said plate, a tubular member having an internally threaded portion adjacent the upper end thereof, an adjusting rod having a screw-threaded end portion engaging said internally threaded portion of said tubular member, said tubular member having longitudinally extending diametrically aligned slots in the lower end thereof, a pivot pin connecting said flat upstanding body portion with said tubular member with said flat body portion extending through said slots, a

3,769,927 6 bracket mounted on said stem in upwardly spaced relaing rod and engaging opposite ends of said sleeve. lion W said means P y connecting Said Plate with 5. The combination claimed in claim 4 in which a sesald stem a sleeve pwotany f f on F? ries of said grooves that are uniformly longitudinally and means for rotatably mounting said ad usting rod m said sleeve having means for holding said rod from lon- 5 spaced Pmv'ded f rod and Said ""8 are gitudinal movement in said sleeve, comprising snap mounted a Selected P thereofrings mounted in circumferential grooves in said adjust- 

1. The combination with a rigid trim tab plate of means for mounting said plate on the stern of a boat for adjustment to various angular positions with respect to a horizontal plane comprising a pair of brackets mounted on said stern, an ear projecting from each of said brackets, each of said ears having an opening therein, a pivot rod mounted in fixed position adjacent a side edge of said plate having end portions projecting beyond the ends of said plate and seated in said openings, a bracket mounted on said plate, a tubular member having longitudinal diametrically aligned slots in the lower end thereof, a flat upstanding body portion on said bracket mounted on said plate extending into said slots, a pivot pin connecting said flat body portion with said tubular member to mount said tubular member on said bracket to pivot adjacent the lower end thereof about an axis parallel to the axis of said pivot rod, ears projecting laterally from said flat upstanding body portion secured to said plate, said tubular member having an internally threaded portion adjacent the upper end thereof, an adjusting rod having a screwthreaded end portion engaging said internally threaded portion of said tubular member, a bracket mounted on said stern in upwardly spaced relation to said first mentioned pair of brackets, a sleeve pivotally mounted on said bracket, and means for rotatably mounting said adjusting rod in said sleeve having means for holding said rod from longitudinal movement in said sleeve.
 2. The combination with a rigid trim tab plate of means for mounting said plate on the stern of a boat for adjustment to various angular positions with respect to a horizontal plane comprising a pair of brackets mounted on said stern, an ear projecting from each of said brackets, each of said ears having an opening therein, a pivot rod mounted in fixed position adjacent a side edge of said plate having end portions projecting beyond the ends of said plate and seated in said openings, a bracket mounted on said plate, a tubular member mounted on said bracket to pivot adjacent the lower end thereof about an axis parallel to the axis of said pivot rod, said tubular member having an internally threaded portion adjacent the upper end thereof, an adjusting rod having a screw-threaded end portion engaging said internally threaded portion of said tubular member, a bracket mounted on said stern in upwardly spaced relation to said first mentioned pair of brackets, a sleeve pivotally mounted on said last mentioned bracket, and means for rotatably mounting said adjusting rod in said sleeve, said adjusting rod having circumferential grooves therein and snap rings mounted in said circumferential grooves engaging the opposite ends of said sleeve to hold said rod from longitudinal movement in said sleeve.
 3. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which said circumferential grooves are provided in a uniform longitudinally spaced series and the snap rings in engagement with opposite ends of said sleeve are positioned in a selected pair of said grooves.
 4. The combination with a rigid trim tab plate of means for mounting said plate on the stern of a boat for adjustment to various angular positions with respect to a horizontal plane comprising means pivotally connecting said plate with said stern to turn about an axis parallel to and adjacent a side edge of said plate, a bracket having a flat upstanding body portion and ears projecting laterally from opposite sides of said body portion connected with said plate, a tubular member having an internally threaded portion adjacent the upper end thereof, an adjusting rod having a screw-threaded end portion engaging said internally threaded portion of said tubular member, said tubular member having longitudinally extending diametrically aligned slots in the lower end thereof, a pivot pin connecting said flat upstanding body portion with said tubular member with said flat body portion extending through said slots, a bracket mounted on said stern in upwardly spaced relation to said means pivotally connecting said plate with said stern, a sleeve pivotally mounted on said bracket, and means for rotatably mounting said adjusting rod in said sleeve having means for holding said rod from longitudinal movement in said sleeve, comprising snap rings mounted in circumferential grooves in said adjusting rod and engaging opposite ends of said sleeve.
 5. The combination clAimed in claim 4 in which a series of said grooves that are uniformly longitudinally spaced is provided in said rod and said rings are mounted in a selected pair thereof. 